PAUL        DANNATT

(Lead Vocals, Electric and Acoustic Guitars)

Paul was born on 8^th august 1964 and from a very early age started to take an interest in music.

My music teacher at junior school heard me singing in the cloak room one day when I was washing my hands and asked me to join the choir. I said no, but Miss Chamberlin kept on asking me each week and after a month or so, I decided to join.

I owe Miss Chamberlin a lot and I am glad she pushed me into singing, other wise I would have ended up being a drummer, because that’s what I really wanted to do, play drums. My mother and dad were very supportive and they bought me a drum kit when I was 14 years old. I loved it but my wrists could not take the pace, they would swell up so I could not even bend them, so I went back to singing. I can still play the drums, but can only keep the beat going, I can’t do any drum solos.

I always get asked who my influences were.

Paul Rodgers, David Coverdale and Ronny James Dio are just a few but I just love people who can sing with heart and soul, I even like Whitney Houston, Anne Lenox, BB King and Eric Clapton.

The first album I bought was Deep Purples’ Storm Bringer. WOW what a voice and what feel David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes; Fantastic album.

 I was lucky in one way that my oldest brother Ian had all the albums I like and I used to play them when he was out but if he caught me he would beat me up ha ha. He was very protective over his records.

Ian had a lot of influence on me because we shared the same interest in music. Ian died in Dec 2006 at the early age of 48 but I know my big bro will always be with me were ever I go.

I wish I could have been in a David Coverdale tribute band but my voice never developed that way.

I remember when I was 16 a friend of mine,  Trevor Barass was drumming in a band up in Newton Aycliffe and asked me to go along and have a listen so I did.  They were really good considering our age. I will never forget Trev saying to the guys in the band “this is my friend Paul and he wants to be a singer when he grows up” that always makes me smile, and to this day when we see each other that always comes up, any way their singer never turned up for practice so they asked me to stand in, we started playing stuff like Smoke on the Water, Sin City, All Right Now etc and they asked me to join.

We called the band DRIVER the first band that I fronted and I never looked back. Over the years I have sung with bands like Mr Bumble, The Paul Dannatt Band, Free at Last, The Merchants Of Cool and now I am  currently singing with a band I put together called THE PAUL RODGERS STORY.

A lot of people have often said how similar my voice sounds to Paul Rodgers,  not in his early years but as he sounds now.  I love most songs that Paul has written and for the last 8yrs I have sung in tribute bands doing all the Free / Bad Company songs as well as his solo albums.

I have supported people like Sir Bob Geldoff at Gateshead festival along with Zoe Becket, The Bootleg Beatles, Mike Hall (a tribute to Eric Clapton) also Jason Bonham, Pauline Gillian (Ian Gillans sister) and Black Rose at the Middlesbrough town hall crypt. I wonder if they remember when they came on stage with their opening song? Pyro flash bombs went off, they set off the fire sprinklers and every one had to evacuate the building! That happened in the early 80s

I met one of my heroes, the man himself Paul Rodgers, about 5 years ago. What a nice man. After talking to him for 20 minutes I got his autograph and he asked me what I do, so I told him my name and that I was working at Teesside Airport and was singing in a Paul Rodgers tribute band. I was ‘astonished’ to here Paul say “I think I have heard of you”! Well what can I say? You could have pushed me over with a feather. I have also met Simon Kirke the drummer out of Free and Bad Company, a real pleasure.

The band I use to sing for sent a CD to Simon and got a letter back from him saying “what a great job you have all done in honouring our music” and wished us all the very best.

I would just like to say to all the people that still come to see me perform after all these years, a big THANKYOU.

Paul Dannatt.

 Paul with Simon Kirke